Second USS WASP of the United States Navy. She was constructed in 1806 at the Washington Navy Yard and
commissioned in 1807 under command of Master Commandant John Smith. Captured by the British in the early months of the War
of 1812.

Length on deck105’7” (32.2 m).

Beam, mld30’0”

Beam, max30’11”

Displacement460 tons

Complement140 officers and enlisted

Armament16 x 32 pdr carronades

2 x 12 pdr guns

Service history

Wasp’s service in 1807 and 1808 remains unrecorded. In 1809, she was cruising the eastern coast of the
United States. By the end of 1810, she
was operating from the ports of Charleston, South Carolina,
and Savannah, Georgia,
presumably concentrating on the waters along the southern portion of the country's eastern coast. In 1811, she moved to Hampton
Roads, Virginia, where she and brigantine Nautilus, joined frigates United
States and Congress in squadron commanded by Commodore Stephen Decatur. Wasp continued to operate along the coast of the middle states after the United
States went to war with Britain
in June 1812. Her single action of that war came in October 1812. On the 13th, she exited the mouth of the Delaware
River and, two days later, encountered a heavy gale which carried away her jibboom and washed two crewmen overboard.
The following evening, Wasp came upon a squadron of ships and, in spite of the fact that two of their number appeared
to be large men-of-war, made for them straight away. She finally caught the enemy convoy the following morning and discovered
six merchantmen under the protection of HMS Floric, a standard 18-gun brig sloop of the Cruiser class. At half past eleven
in the morning of 15 October, Wasp and Frolic closed for battle, commencing fire at a distance of 50 to 60 yards. In a short,
but sharp, fight, both ships sustained heavy damage to masts and rigging, but Wasp prevailed over her adversary by boarding
her. Unfortunately for the gallant little ship, a British 74-gun ship of the line, HMS Poictiers appeared on the scene, and
Wasp became a British prize. Wasp's commanding officer, Master Commandant Jacob Jones, had to surrender his small ship
to the new adversary because he could neither run nor hope to fight such an overwhelming opponent.Waspwas taken in the Royal Navy as HMS Loup Cervier. In 1813 she was again renamed Peacock but was foundered
in August 1814 of the southern coast of USA.
The WaspIslands,
part of the San Juan Islands of Washington state, were named
after the USS Wasp.

USS Hornet (1805-1829)

USS Hornet, a 441-ton brig-sloop built at Baltimore, Maryland,
was commissioned in October 1805. She operated along the U.S. Atlantic coast and in the Mediterranean until decommissioned
in late 1807. Recommissioned a year later, she again cruised in U.S. waters and took dispatches to Europe. In 1811 Hornet
was converted to a ship-sloop at the Washington Navy Yard D.C.

Hornet rendered conspicuous service during the War of 1812. Early in the conflict she served with
Commodore John Rodgers' squadron, capturing the privateer Dolphin in July 1812. Later in the year she blockaded the British
sloop of war Bonne Citoyenne at Bahia, Brazil, and on 24 February 1813 defeated and sunk HMS Peacock. For much of the rest
of 1813 and most of 1814 Hornet was in port at New London, Connecticut, unable to leave in the face of superior British forces
offshore. However, she got to sea in mid-November 1814 and sailed to the south Atlantic. On 23 March 1815, off Tristan da
Cunha island, USS Hornet captured British sloop Penguin,- one of several actions between the U.S. and Royal Navies that took
place after the War of 1812 had formally ended, but before all ships at sea had learned of the settlement.

In 1818-1819 Hornet operated in the West Indies and the Mediterranean.
She participated in the anti-piracy campaign in the Caribbean during the 1820s, capturing one pirate schooner off Santo Domingo
in late October 1821. While off Tampico, Mexico, on 29 September 1829, USS Hornet was dismasted in a gale and sank with her
entire complement.

Artwork depicting USS Hornet (foreground) off São Salvador
(Bahia), Brazil, with the British sloop of war Bonne Citoyenne blockaded inside the harbor, circa 13 December 1812
- 24 January 1813. Hornet's Commanding Officer, James Lawrence, had challenged the enemy warship to a single-ship action,
but Bonne Citoyenne, which carried a significant amount of money, declined the offer.The original was in a journal
kept by William H. Macy of a whaling voyage to the Pacific Ocean in the ship Potomac, 1841-1845.